Azure Hybrid Benefit

Migrate 2008 and 2008 R2 server workloads to Azure Virtual Machines and get three more years of security updates following the end of your support dates – for free – resulting in significant cost savings. AWS is five times more expensive than Azure for Windows Server and SQL Server1.

*Price match available to the publicly available prices – as of 21 November 2018 – of eligible newest generation products in the same comparable geographic region only. Pricing adjustments in response to price drop by AWS can take up to 90 days to process.

Free enterprise-grade cost management tools

Take advantage of built-in tools and services to help you compare costs, save money and optimise your Azure resources.

Compare your cost savings to on-premises solutions

Compare the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your on-premises infrastructure to a comparable Azure deployment. Estimate the savings you can realise by migrating your workloads to Azure.

Ways to pay for Azure

1Calculations based on scenarios running 744 hours/month for 12 months at 3-year Reserved Instances or Reserved Capacity. Prices as of 24 October 2018, subject to change. Azure Windows VM calculations based on two D2V3 Azure VMs in US West 2 region at the SUSE Linux Enterprise Basic rate. AWS calculations based on two m5.Large VMs in US West (Oregon) using Windows Server Pay-As-You-Go rate for Reserved Instances under Standard 3-year term, all upfront payment. SQL Server calculations based on 8 vCore Azure SQL Database Managed Instance Business Critical in US West 2 running at Azure Hybrid Benefit rate. AWS calculations based on RDS for SQL EE for db.r4.2xlarge on US West (Oregon) in a multi AZ deployment for Reserved Instances under Standard 3-year term, all upfront payments. Extended Security Updates cost used for AWS is based on Windows Server Standard open NL ERP pricing in USD. Actual savings may vary based on region, instance size and performance tier. Savings exclude Software Assurance costs, which may vary based on Volume Licensing agreement. Contact your sales representative for details.

2Calculations based on scenarios running 744 hours/month for 12 months at 3-year Reserved Instances. Prices as of 24 October 2018, subject to change. Savings calculations based on two D2V3 Azure VMs in US West 2 region, reduced compute rate at SUSE Linux Enterprise Basic rate with Azure Hybrid Benefit. AWS calculations based on two m5.Large VMs in US West (Oregon) using Windows Server Pay-As-You-Go rate for Reserved Instances under Standard 3-year term, all upfront payment. Actual savings may vary based on region, instance size and performance tier. Savings exclude Software Assurance costs, which may vary based on Volume Licensing agreement.

3Calculations based on scenarios running 744 hours/month for 12 months at 3-year Reserved Capacity. Prices as of 24 October 2018, subject to change. Savings based on eight vCore Azure SQL Database Managed Instance Business Critical in US West 2 running at Azure Hybrid Benefit rate. AWS calculations based on RDS for SQL EE for db.r4.2xlarge on US West (Oregon) in a multi AZ deployment for Reserved Instances under Standard 3-year term, all upfront payments. Actual regional pricing and programme discounts may apply. Actual savings may vary based on region, instance size and performance tier. Savings exclude Software Assurance costs, which may vary based on Volume Licensing agreement.

4Calculations based on scenarios running 744 hours/month for 12 months at 3-year Reserved Instances. Prices as of 15 June 2018, subject to change. Savings based on 8-Core D13 v2 Azure VM in East US 2 region at CentOS/Ubuntu Linux with Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server and Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows Server. AWS calculations based on r3.2xlarge in US East (N. Virginia) at Windows rate with SQL Server Licence Mobility. Actual savings may vary based on region, instance size and performance tier. Savings exclude Software Assurance costs, which may vary based on Volume Licensing agreement.

Compare the costs of running Windows Server virtual machines (VMs):

Other cloud service providers may claim to have similar savings to the Azure Hybrid Benefit, but you’ll need to repurchase your Windows Server licence on those clouds. And only Azure offers free extended security updates for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2.

extended security updates cost is based on Windows Server Standard open NL ERP pricing in USD.

Compare SQL Server running as a PaaS service:

Only Azure offers savings across both platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) for SQL Server. With the Azure Hybrid Benefit, you can use existing licences with Software Assurance to pay a reduced rate on Azure SQL Database (PaaS). This is not included in SQL Server licence mobility rights for other clouds.

Compare SQL Server running on a virtual machine (IaaS):

Only Azure offers savings across both platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) for SQL Server. With the Azure Hybrid Benefit, there is no need to repurchase software licences – use existing licences with Software Assurance to save on Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS).

With the Azure Hybrid Benefit, you only pay the reduced compute rate (SUSE Linux Enterprise Basic rate) for the Windows Server VM. You’ll need to repurchase Windows Server on other clouds. And only Azure offers free extended security updates for SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2.